Spinning frame creel



I Dec; 18, 1945.

L. M. COTCHE'II'T SPINNING FRAME CREEL Filed Juiy is, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 D QP r w u g mm Dec. 18, 1945. I L M. COTCHETT 2,391,295

' SPINNING FRAME CREEL Filed July 16, 1941 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec 18, 1945. L. M. COTCHETT ,3

SPINNING FRAME CREEL Filed July 16, 194i 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 e :26 B B Ba /k I 1945- L. M. COTCHETT SPINNING FRAME CREEL Filed July 16, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4;

e NN .iifim m. "ff/ Q M "I I PatentedDec. 18,

UNITED v SPINNING FRAME CREEL Louis M. Cotchett, Hingliam, Mass. assignor to Saco-Lowell Shops, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Maine Application July 16, 1941, Serial No. 402,581

Claims.

This invention relates to spinning frames, more especially of thetype used in cotton spinning, and ithas for its general object to effect economies in the manufacture and use of machines of this type. r

Important objects of the invention are to reduce the floor space required by a spinning frame to the end of reducing the overhead expense involved in the spinning operation, and to facilitate the servicing which any spinning frame re-.

quires, especiallythat involved in replacing empty roving bobbins, piecing up, and similar operations.

An analysis of the labor costs in a cotton spinning room shows that a surprisingly high proportion of such costs are for cleaning. In some mills this proportion will run as high as forty percent. of the entire .operating cost. Cleanin is important primarily from the standpoint of quality of the product manufactured. Or, to

in a very substantial measure, will keep itself clean. 1

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying draw-,

ings, and the novel features will, be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a pinning frame constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. -2 is a side elevation of the machine shown mm. 1:

Fig. 3 is a vertical, sectional view lyontheline3l.Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section, the plane of section being taken Just above the bobbin whorls:

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a spinning frame at the tail end of the machine showing a preferred method of enclosing the mechanism in the machine base;

Fig.- 8 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section, showing a detail of construction of the creel;

approximate- Fig. '1 is a horizontal, sectional view; partl a elevation. showing another detail of the creel structure:

1y on the line 9-9, Fig. 8.

Fig. 8 is a side view of the construction shown inFis. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a vertical, sectional view Referring first to Figs. 2 and 3, a spinning frame is there shown of a type disclosed in an earlier application of mine. sectional units secured end to end. each unit being substantially a complete spinning machine except fora driving mechanism. As illustrated, each section includes two lines of spindles 2 mounted at opposite sides of the frame,each

spindle being adapted to support a bobbin, and all the spindles being driven by bands or tapes which, in turn, are driven from a central cylinder 3, Fig. 3. Cooperating with the respective lines of spindles are the usual'ringsmounted on ring rails 4-4, thread bores 5-5, and two rows of sets of drawing rolls 6-6 which draw strands of roving from the supplybobbins and feed them laterally to the two lines of spindles.

So far as this general arrangement of the parts or mechanisms mentioned is concerned, the machine is essentially like those already known.

-In prior art constructions it has been the uni-.- versal practice to mount a creel for supporting the supply bobbins between the lines of drawing rolls at opposite sides of the frame. Usually the creel board is positioned on and between the roller beams on which the roll stands are mounted, and the lowest lines, rows or tiers of roving nobbins areabout on a level with the drawing mils. Above these lower tiers there usuallyare one or more additional tiers of bobbins. Such an arrangement necessarily increases the width of the frame by a distance equal to the width of the creel. Usually the'flrst story of the creel stand is designed to accommodate four longitudinal rows of bobbins, and if double roving is to be run, then the creel must include a second story accommodating four more rows of bobbins. With this arrangement it is not easy for an operator of average height and reach to replace an empty bobbin with a full one and to piece up. One of the objects of this invention, therefore, is'to devise novel spinning frame. and creel structures which .will. facilitate these operations.

It will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 3

that in the spinning frame provided by this invention the creel is positioned wholly above the machine, the lower story of roving bobbins B consisting simply of two rows or tiers mounted di-- 1 rectly over their respective rows of drawing rolls 1 O and spaced from'them only by-a distance siliapproximate- This machine comprises ficient for convenience in piecing up and perform rows of drawing roll sets, the positioning of these rolls back to back, and the reduction of the space between them to a distance less than the normal diameter of a full roving bobbin, or, in other words, to a distance less than the overall lateral it is spaced from the cylindrical portion of the post by a bearing'sleeve I: made of Oilite or other suitable material. A screw 2! threaded through the skirt of the cap 22 is provided with a cylindrical end to run in a groove d of the fixture and thus to prevent the cap from being lifted off the fixture when the bobbin is removed from it.

width of either of said rows of drawing roll sets,

as will be evident from an inspection of Fig. 3. Also, by mounting the creel substantially as shown, the lower ends of the lowermost bobbins may be positioned below the shoulder level of a person of average height so that all of the bobbins in the creel then are within convenient reach. Moreover, since the bobbins are above or directly over the drawing rolls instead of behind. them, an operator standing at either side of the machine is within easy reaching distance of all or the bobbins for that side.

The creel structure itself is of skeleton con-. struction as best shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and 6 to 9,

inclusive. Since this particular machine is made up of sectional units located end to end, the creel structure also is preferably made in .the same manner. That for the extreme left-hand section shown in Figs. 1 and 2, which in this instance is at the head end of the frame, comprises two upright posts I and 8 mounted at opposite ends of the section and a horizontal bar it supported on them. Extending through this bar are several cross bars, two of which are relatively short and are shown at i I, the others, indicated at i2, being considerably longer. One of the latter bars is better shown in Fig. 6.

- all of the cross bars H and I! are equipped with fittings orfixtures like that shown at II in Fig. 6.

Each of these fittings includes a body ll having a hole therethrough to accommodate the bar It, the fitting being'set-screwed or otherwise secured to the bar. Secured rigidly to, or integral with, this fitting is a depending stud I provided at its lower end with a head providing a ball race and a bushing it rests on the balls in said race. An inverted cap ll, provided with a long. sleeve-like extension telescoped on to the bushing I6, is secured rigidly thereto and this cap carries two plungers Il-is sliding in a transverse bore formed in the cap. They are urged apart by a spring 20, the ends of the bore being so contracted as to prevent the plungers from coming out. The

bobbin B is composed of roving wound on the wooden bobbin tube b, the bore of which. is enlarged at a short distance fromits end, and the ends of the plungers iI-i8 fit into this enlargement and'support the bobbin yieldingly in a suspended position. It can be removed from the fixture merely by a downward pull.

in order to support the upper bobbins B, the fixture body I4 is provided with an integral post 2i having a tapered'bearing point at its upper as shown at c to support the bobbin tube b, and

are set-screwed to certain of the cross bars i2,

- of the two rails.

Fittings or fixtures of this character support all of the bobbins above referred to, but in addition to them there are two more tiers of bobbins in the second story, indicated at B, which are positioned on the same level as'the inner tiers of bobbins in the upper story but are spaced outwardly away from them. These bobbins B are mounted in standing positions on fittings 25, Fig. 6, like those shown at It except that they are made to flt over the ends of the bars Ii or I! and they include only the parts II to 24, inclusive, required to support bobbins in their standing positions.

Associated with the cross bars are upper and lower horizontal guide rails 28 and 21, respectively, which are supported on tour upright bars 28. The latter bars themselves pass through and and the rails are drilled vertically to receive the ends of the bars 2|, the parts being secured together by screws. At the points where a guide rail of one section adjoins that of another, a sleeve 30, Fig. 1,-is provided to receive the abutting ends While the elements of this creel may be secured together in various ways, a convenient method of attachment of the central bar in to the end posts 1. and 1: consists in milling slots,

such as those indicated at ll, Fig. 8, in the ends of each bar and securing in these slots the ends of a strap or straps encircling one of the posts. The straps 12, Figs. 7, '8 and 9, cooperateto encircle the posts 8 and are clamped thereon by screws 33, while the projecting ends of these straps are positioned in the slots ll-4i and are secured thereinby set screws "-34. Each set screw is threaded vertically into a tapped hole forming an enlargement of the slot and it is provided with a pointed end which enters between the lower edges of the end portions of the straps and exerts a spreading action on them. At the end post I a single strap, shown at l! in Fig. 1,

encircles the post and its ends are secured to the,

bar It in the same manner as are the ends of the straps 32 shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

The arrangement of bobbins illustrated in Figs.

' 1, 2 and 3 is designedior double roving; that is,

two strands of roving are led from separate supply bobbins in the creel to each spindle, the creel supporting sixteen bobbins on each side to supply the eight spindles of a given section. Since all of the bobbins are supported at convenient heights, and because the outermost tiers of bobbins are interrupted, as best'shown in Fig. 1, all are located within easy reach. The most difll- .culty 'naturally occurs with the central tiers of bobbins B in the upper story, but the four bobbins B in the outermost tiers are so spaced that any such diiliculty is avoided. They are arranged in pairs and a bobbin space is left empty between each two adjacent pairs, thus providing easy access to three of the bobbins B in the middle portionotthe innerand uppertier. Accesstothe end bobbins. B is re obtainable at one end or the other of the outermost tier.

Thus this invention provides a novel creel structure in which the replacement or empty bobbins byfull ones andthepiecingupoperationsare able to learn. same overall width as the maximum width of the tically all times.

more easily performed than in any of theprior art arrangements of which applicant has been The creel is of approximately the rods which form the structural elements of the creel are all made from stock of circular crosssection so that they present no flat horizontal surfaces on which lint and'fly can lodge. On the contrary, these surfaces are so curved or slopedthat they naturally shed material of this nature and the creel therefore keeps itself clean at prac- Thus the labor of cleaning the creel is substantially eliminated.

I have found that the labor of cleaning may further be reduced very materially. by covering I the space between the lines of spindles with some kind of a smooth surfaced plate such as that shown at 36 in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Preferably, also, the entire base of the machine is enclosed by side plates 31 and additional plates, such as shown at 38 or 39, where required at an end of the frame. Each of the side plates fl-includesa supplemental plate 31' of approximately'L-section secured to its respective plates 3'! by a piano type hinge so that it may be swung outwardly to expose the whorls when desired. The-margins .of the top plate 38 rest on the inner margins of the curved plates 31', the three sets of plates being notched,

ever desired. The abutting edges of adjoiningside plates may be covered by strips such as those shown at 4 l With a construction of this nature I have found that the lint and fly which naturally tends to ing this frame is eliminated and the labor involved is correspondingly reduced.

In addition to contributing to the object of maintaining the frame clean, as above described, the narrow frame also has the very important advantage of occupying. onlyabout half the floor space that is required by the spinning frames now in common use. Every square foot of space in a mill translates itself into a certain fraction of the overhead cost of the product manufactured by.that mill. Consequently, such a saving in floor space as that just mentioned is'a substantial practical advantage. A further advantage of the creel structure is the fact that it can be manufactured very economically.

While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be evident that the invention is susceptible of embodiment in other forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. For example, it may be desirable in some creels to support all of the roving bobbins from below or to suspend all of them from above, or to make various combinations of these means of support which may differ from the arrangement above shown and described,

while still embodying novel features of the invention.

- The so called clean frame features above described are not claimed in this application but are claimed in a divisional application- Ser. No. 508,673, filed November 2, 1943. Also, the thread board construction. per se'is not here claimed but is described, illustrated and claimed in a divisional settle down between the lines of spindles is pre- 7 vented from actually coming to rest in this space by the air currents created by the rotary motion of the bobbins and spindles' In Fig. 4 the arrows indicate, in a general way,- what I believe to be the paths taken by-these currents of air. There .is a down draft from overhead through and around the drawing rolls and the thread boards which naturallytends to carry lint into the space between the rows of spindles, but the whole body of air in said space is in motion and the air application Ser. No. 549,740, filed August 16, 1944.

Having thus described my invention, what I parts serving to support two upper central rows of bobbins above said lower rows and similarly located with reference to said plane, said creel also including means for supporting additional currents have ample velocity to prevent the lint lint "and fly substantially as fast as they are shed by the bobbins and the strands passing through the drawing rolls. The air currents relied upon to keep the plate 36v clean are the result of contrifugal action due to the rotative motion of the bobbins. They apparently throw air away-from the frame at opposite sides and thus draw air from overhead down through the space between the rows of spindles. Naturally these air currents are more effective in a narrow space than they would be in a wide one.

Since the creel and the cover plate 36 remain clean indefinitely, due to the causes above described, the greater part of the necessity for clean-;

upper rows of bobbins spaced outwardl from said central upper rows, the supports for certain of the bobbins in. said outermost rows being spaced farther apart than those in the central rows so as to afford free access to all of the bobbins in said upper central rows.

2. a creel structure for spinning frames comprising posts at opposite ends thereof, bars extending longitudinally of the creel and additional bars extending-transversely thereof, said bars being connected with each other and with said postsso that they are all supported by the-posts, and'flttings carried by said bars and serving to support roving bobbins arranged in two central lower parallel rows closely adjacent to each other and two upper central rows also positioned closev 37 jacent to each other and two additional rows spaced outwardly from each other and from said upper central rows but located at a level above that of the lower rows, the bobbins in said outer claim 1, in which said. frame includes horizontal bars and certain of said fittings are mounted on said bars to support the bobbins in running posi- 15 tions above the bars. each of said fittings includiii: a post and a cap rotatably mounted on said post and shouldered to engage the lower end of a bobbin and support it in a standing position.

5. A creel structure according to preceding claim 1, in which said frame includes horizontal bars and certain of said fittings are mounted on said bars to support the bobbins in running positions, each fitting including a post for engaging the lower end of a bobbin to support it in a standing position and a hanger for ensasinz the upper end of another bobbin and supporting it in a suspended position. 

